


the name on her lips

by stupidgaytree



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Fae & Fairies, also yes the dialogue is in italics i have an aesthetic to keep alright, kind of. i dont really know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 12:58:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13927599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidgaytree/pseuds/stupidgaytree
Summary: to know someone is to know their heart





	the name on her lips

Dani does not know the Lady Flame's true name. It's probably better that way.  
She knows that the Lady summons fire from her palm and adores flowers. She knows that the Lady's eyes crinkle at the corners when she smiles, and that she pierced her ears herself, lucky not to get an infection. She knows that the Lady has a familiar, a rabbit she insists is named Doctor Harris Bonkers, PhD., even if she never brings him along to see Dani.  
She knows the Lady has freckles on the bridge of her nose, even though the Lady doesn't. She knows that the Lady has many friends, but no family to speak of. Dani doesn't know their names either.  
She knows the Lady's tattoos go beyond her chest, down her shoulders and upper arms, curling down her ribs and sides and spanning her upper back. She knows the lines and color of all of them by heart, but not what they mean, if anything. She knows the Lady so well without ever knowing the name that danced on her lips that first night.  
The Lady knows her, too.  
She knows Dani’s every freckle and blemish, splattered over her skin like paint on a canvas. She knows Dani’s eyes glow and teeth glint because Dani is born of the forest and the night, of the shadows between the days and the noise of the tree that falls when no one is around to hear it. She knows Dani's mouth twitches when she's trying not to laugh, even though Dani didn't know that until the Lady told her. She knows Dani can commit a single moment or memory into the permanent world with a few strokes of a pencil on paper, and that Dani has a family whose names she does not know either.  
The Lady knows that Dani is slow to anger because she wasn't once. That once, Dani's heart hurt so intensely that all she could do was wail and cry and spit and scream at a loss she knew she could have stopped. And for her anger, she never saw the sharp lines and familiar faces of her true home again. Fae are not supposed to cry, much less over a dead human.  
The Lady knows Dani's true name. Dani told her once, but the Lady stumbled over the fifth syllable trying to repeat it and Dani laughed, traced her cheek with her finger and told her _for you, I am just Dani._  
The Lady knows that Dani loves her, that it's at once a strange kind of love and an incredibly human one. The Lady knows that Dani loves her voice as she tells a story, her hands as they grip Dani's, her heart as it thuds in her chest, giving her the life to _go_ , to _do_ , to change the world with a flick of flame.  
Dani doesn't know if the Lady loves her. Not really. It would be as dangerous as her name in the wrong hands for the Lady to tell her so.  
But on a different level, she's certain of it. The Lady loves her, with soft eyes and wide grins and raucous laughter in the dead of night. She has never needed to say it.

\--

The Lady is a traveler. Dani knows this, too.  
She has never been one to settle. Adventure and the hunger to prove herself burn in her veins, pumped along by that fiery heart.  
In a way, Dani expected this. She knew the Lady would leave eventually. She expected her to leave without a word, leaving nothing of value behind. It would hurt her less.  
But the Lady surprises her.  
 _Come with me,_ she says, _The world is so wide, Dani. Come with me. Please._  
Dani can only stare at the Lady's fingers entwined with hers, skin warm to the touch, until she looks up.  
Tears are beading in the Lady's eyes, and as Dani watches one falls, rolling down her cheek. She reaches out without thinking and wipes it away, the Lady leaning into her touch and closing her eyes.  
 _No tears_ , Dani whispers, _All is well._  
 _So you'll come?_ The Lady asks.  
 _Of course_ , Dani laughs, but it comes out more of a sob. _Of course,_ she repeats, _Anywhere for you._

\--

They catch a train to another city, and the man at the toll booth asks for the Lady's name. She only hesitates for a moment.  
 _Aubrey Little,_ she says, meeting Dani's eyes with a smile.  
He hands over their tickets, and Aubrey takes Dani's hand and leads her on board. Dani knows, now, the Lady's name -- her _true_ name, not a lie or a nickname. This one buzzes against her skin and fills her mouth with honey when she tries it out on her tongue. _Aubrey Little,_ she repeats, half to herself.  
Aubrey turns to look at her, and Dani reaches to kiss her, stopping them in the middle of the train to taste the lips of Aubrey Little.

\--

_You didn't want to know my name because you didn't know what would happen to me_ , Aubrey says later. It's more of a statement than a question, but Dani nods anyways.  
 _I don't know,_ she says after a moment, _If I have any connection left at all to the fae realm. I don't think I have power over names anymore._  
The train rattles around them as it moves, and Aubrey shifts to rest her head on Dani's shoulder. _That's alright,_ she says, _I care about you because you're good, not because of weird eldritch magic._  
It's a simple phrase, but it rings true, and Dani smiles with her lips closed and eyes down, mindful of other passengers.

\--

They don't have a destination in mind. They just _go._

**Author's Note:**

> im having a bit of a block with the uuuh longer amnesty fic so have this. hyuh (throws it at you)
> 
> find me on tumblr @ starofdeltora (main) hiwrighter (writing) or remysflips (taz/cr)


End file.
